WHEN a film is made into a musical, it’s always difficult to know what to expect – especially when the star of said film is held on a pedestal so high that it’s hard to imagine anyone else even coming close.

So it is for The Bodyguard. I’m not saying Whitney Houston was the best of actresses, but my, the woman could certainly hold a note! So, who better than 2008 X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke to fill the role? A star in her own right, Alexandra has been playing Rachel Marron since taking over the role from Beverley Knight in the West End. And she’s good.

From the very beginning we are wowed with great stage effects – but then a gun shot in the theatre, enormous cinema projections and real pyrotechnics are sure to get any performance off to a blazing start.

The musical is actually quite faithful to the film; as someone who has seen more than my fair share of these adaptations, it’s fair to say that you can’t go far wrong if you stick to the popular formula and don’t mess about with the plot too much. In short, a famous singer is being stalked by a bad guy and falls in love with the bodyguard who is hired to protect her and her son. No surprises there, then.

However, I did find the recurring presence of the ‘baddie’ in random moments and scenes quite amusing – especially the scene where he just appears in the spotlight and cuddles her dress, and I’m not sure it’s the intention that a whole sector of the audience bursts into laughter when he knocks on the door of the log cabin.

And in the original film there is also a strong leading man, in the shape of Kevin Costner. Sadly I don’t feel that Stuart Reid quite has the same physical presence in the role of Frank Farmer, and his accent certainly didn’t cut it. There was also a distinct lack of any sexual chemistry on the stage – so just how did he end up in bed with Rachel anyway?

On the other hand Melissa James, who plays the role of Rachel’s sister Nicki, was amazing. When she took centre stage for her solo number it sent shivers down my spine and certainly stole the limelight from Alexandra who, perhaps, would do well to smile a little bit more. Despite her very best efforts to get the hands clapping for her rendition of ‘I’m Every Woman’, the audience certainly wasn’t having any of it.

With 16 Whitney songs crammed into the show, there’s more than enough music for fans to enjoy, including Saving All My Love, Greatest Love of All, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, I Have Nothing, How Will I Know, Where Do Broken Hearts Go and the heartbreaking I Will Always Love You. And no, they aren’t all in the original film but hey, who’s complaining?

The standing ovation was well deserved for the vocal performances alone.

The Bodyguard is on at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, January 30. Visit www.atgtickets.com/bristol for more details.